Friday, November 4, 2016

This post was sponsored by the Window Covering Safety Council as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

While I would like to say that I have always made the best possible choices and decisions when it comes to my children and their safety... my guilty conscience knows that that is not 100% true.

Were their car seat straps always as very tight as possible? Is every single bookshelf, dresser and flat screen TV in our home anchored to the wall? Have they had enough sunscreen on every inch of their skin every single time they went outdoors?

I'm not the only mom with nagging questions like these, right?

But while I can work to ensure that all future straps are tightened, anchors are in place, and sunscreen is applied, what about other areas of our houses that have been largely ignored in childproofing? New parents are warned against crib bumpers, placing their infant to sleep on their stomach or having loose blankets nearby, but there are many other hazards that aren't brought up.

Case in point, the dangers of corded blinds.

Did you know that according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, corded window coverings are among the top five hidden hazards in American homes? That is exactly why the Window Covering Safety Council urges parents and caregivers to check their window coverings for exposed or dangling cords which can pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children.

This is a topic that is so important (last month was even National Window Covering Safety Month), yet so often completely overlooked when we are thinking about the dangers in our home!

Do you have young children in a home with window coverings that have exposed or dangling cords? Then be sure to retrofit or replace them with safer products, particularly those that are cordless or have inaccessible cords. The time and cost is far outweighed by the fact that your children will be protected from this hidden danger!

Plus, to make it easier to know which window coverings are the best for your home, just look at major retailers across the country for the Best for Kids certification label. Then there will be no doubt that you are making the safest choice possible and one less thing to worry about in the endless uncertainty that is parenthood.

When we moved into our house over a decade ago, there were blinds and cords everywhere. Fortunately, we were able to do a large remodel and, in the process of replacing nearly all of the windows throughout the home, we were introduced to Between the Glass window covering options.

I can't say enough about how happy we are with having shades built right in between the panes of the windows themselves! They're protected from damage, require nearly no cleaning or maintenance, and there isn't a single cord or drape hanging from a window or sliding door in sight. Safe + convenient = love!

Although National Window Covering Safety Month has passed for the year, don't let another day go by that you don't follow these important safety measures in your own home. The Window Covering Safety Council website has all of the information that you need when it comes to checking your current window coverings, eliminating hazards, ordering free retrofit kits, and more.

For even more information and ideas on window cord safety in the home, you can also connect with the Window Covering Safety Council on Facebook and Twitter.